Sunday, December 25, 2011

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even Cooper .. but he kept his ball close just in case Santa might throw it for him,

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of sugar plums (or balls) dancing in their heads and pretending to be asleep.

When on the back patio, there arose such a clatter - I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter. Away to the door I flew like a flash, tripped over my shoes and fell with a crash! There on the once white concrete I spied, two huge horses with no sleigh in sight. This smarty pants (Remy) had opened the gate and was happily munching on my grass.

I whistled and shouted and called them by name .. On Remy .. On Showby (well actually there were a few expletives mixed in) ... GET OFF MY GRASS!!!!! They ran from the patio to the concrete wall ... dash away, dash away, dash away all ... and they did as I chased them around the yard a couple of times and aerated the lawn.

I never did see Santa, but he brought my babies new toys to play with. Everyone who knows Jessie, KNOWS she is growling in this image.

Santa also brought Caitlan back. She has been at the Vet for three days ... surgery for several tumors and an emergency spay. Unfortunately, the outcome doesn't look too good right now. She is such a happy camper and doesn't understand why she has to lay down and be quiet. She has a nice soft comfy bed which I nailed down this time. She just wants to make her OWN bed!!! Along with a heating pad just in case!!

The horses too have had their share of Christmas problems. Remy wasn't trimmed correctly and has very sore feet. Clean and treat twice a day along with meds. Showby has an upper respiratory problem ... also on meds. So just call me Vet Nancy ... this is going to be my life for the next two weeks!!!!!

Hoping everyone had a great Christmas with their families!!! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!!!!!

Friday, December 16, 2011

DISNEYLAND!! One of my favorite places to go. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I've been there, I still love it. Christmas is one of the best times to go if you don't mind the crowds. The decorations are wonderful and the snow a sight to see. We arrived Thursday night after a stop at Tommy Burgers. THE most famous burger joint in L.A. ... they serve their special chili on their burgers and dogs. Although loved by many, I can pass it up with no problem. I love chili, but not this one!!! Sorry Tommy!!

We stayed at the Red Lion Inn, advertised as being one block from Disneyland. For $50 a night, I can't complain .. the room was really nice, microwave, coffee maker, safe ... but it was a 2.5 block walk to the ENTRANCE of Disneyland. Here's Peter and his daughter Lauren that I go with every year.

We added to the group this time with Peter's friend Alex and his daughter Allie.

This is the first time in many years that we have seen Jack Skellington. At 6'something, he was really a character, asking the kids all kinds of funny questions.

Due to the crowds, we rode some rides more often than usual. The Jungle Cruise is always funny because of the bad jokes the "Boat Captains" tell. Today was no exception. Another great hilarious ride is the Canoe trip. If you haven't done this one, it's a must!!

Lauen loves to ride the Teacups and make them spin!!! which makes me nauseous!! Allie got the honors this time.

At Christmas, the farm behind Thunder Mountain Railroad has reindeer ... and Santa if you are willing to wait in line with screaming crying kids. In the back corner is this cutie ... which of course caught my eye!!

The Princesses are always one of our stops ... usually an hour or more wait (again with the screaming cranky kids), tempered by the fact that they are all dressed up in THEIR princess costumes and are cute as can be. Here's Belle ... I'm sure I have 5 pictures of Belle!!!

The World of Color program in the California Adventure side is an amazing display of water and lights, including short movie clips shown against a background of fine water spray. Amazing what you can do with water.

After the show, most people leave this side and head for the fireworks of Disneyland ... but after several hours of pleading and "betting you can't do it", I talked everyone into riding the Hollywood TOWER of TERROR!!!!! Ooohhhhhhh .... this one is good, although very short!! In the end, we had walked 10 hours on Friday and 13 hours on Saturday! Crazy huh?? But it's all worth the pain to be at Mickey's House!!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Not a lot going on, which is why I haven't written much. I joined the local ELKS organization and help out with BINGO every Tuesday night. Oh my!! These ladies are serious and grumpy!! There has been lots of complaining since I arrived .... and here's why. The first two times I helped sell the cards, I noticed several women taking 5 packages (12 games in each) and telling the cashier they only had 3. That's increasing their odds by 24 cards. The next Tuesday, I suggested we check everyone's "stack" to be sure we charged for what they were taking. Sure enough, probably 10 people took more than they told us. Grumble grumble!!! Last night, we again checked EVERYONE'S purchases and were accused of only checking "some". This time we caught at least 20 bingo sheets being taken "by mistake". Now I would agree with that if there was just 3 or 4 ... but 20??? The ones that were complaining the loudest were the ones we caught. On the other hand, we received one screaming (literally) complaint about not charging enough, and my co-worker got chewed out for it. I'm ready to quit after 4 weeks. After being told how to do my job by 6 of the bingo players and being yelled at for doing my job ... I'm thinking my attempt to help out isn't working, as it hasn't for anyone else because they desperately need help. By the way, one lady won $1400 last night!!! The payouts each night are a minimum of $4000, which is a lot of money ... but don't try to increase your odds and cheat everyone else out of their chance.

My photography project is due tonight. Wish me luck.

Tomorrow is the best day of the month!!! I'm going to Disneyland for four days!!! I'll be thinking about my friends Patty and Dan on their Disney Cruise with their family!!! I'm going with two friends and their daughters, both about 9 years old. We go every year at Christmas and I'm so excited to be going again. The construction work in California Adventurer should be completed so we can see the water show and experience two new rides!!! AND I'm getting a yearly pass so I can go as many times as I want. Pictures will be coming soon ......... Hope you are enjoying the Holiday Season!!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Most, if not all ranches, have names. Our cattle ranch was "K Quarter Circle" Ranch, which happens to have been our brand. Some homes have names ... my place is Buzzard's Roost. Most people think it is because I have a carved wooden statue of a turkey buzzard sitting up high in one corner. Actually, it's because of the real thing!!!

Definitely not the most glamourous of birds ... in fact they are pretty disgusting. Every year just before Christmas, hundreds of turkey vultures (or turkey buzzards) visit my house ... well thankfully, my neighbor's house. Apparently they have migrated here .... seriously, to Merced? And MY neighbor's back yard? ...

Here's MY back yard .... notice the very tall trees at the back of the property which are on the "neighbors" side of the fence. This is the chosen spot for these guys to roost until their next migration in the spring.

This VERY cold morning when I went out to feed, there were several perched on my fence with wings spread, warming up in the morning sun. This is a first ... they have NEVER ventured into my yard. I foresee lots of running and screaming in my future ... trying to assure the big mess is in THEIR back yard, not mine!! They have a wing span of around four feet ... if cold enough, their wings are fully extended.

These two were joined by two more walking along the top of the fence. All total, there were 6 of these huge birds perched around my corral. Thank goodness they are not hawks or I would be very concerned about my two small dogs. These only eat dead things.

They are hard to photograph because they are so skittish ... even more so now since I ran at them waving my arms and screaming like a banshee to scare them back to the neighbors trees!!! Really, I know I named this place buzzards roost, but I prefer they "roost" next door!!!!!

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About Me

I'm a Cowgirl, born and raised on a cattle ranch in California. I recently retired and purchased a 2012 Tiffin Phaeton RV, so I could travel around the U.S. with my two dogs, Cooper (a poodle), Jessie (a Jack Russell) and Jonathan (my parrot). I've been around the world a couple of times and not been exactly happy with my photographic images, so I took a few classes from the local Junior College. I'm happy to say I'm pleased with the results. Not every picture will make it to my blog, but one out of ten is far better than one out of five hundred. I hope you enjoy them too, along with my tales of misadventures!!